It's win-win for Wallis Park

LUNENBURG - It was more than a concerted neighborhood effort to secure government funding for a playground in a "forgotten" section of town. It showed residents when they want something, they have to band together and act.

"It showed a lot of people that didn't know a lot about how town government works that all we have to do is stand up for what we want, and we can get what we want," Christopher Letarte said Thursday.

Letarte spent the last year leading the campaign to rebuild the Wallis Park playground from decades of neglect.

Now, after twice successfully petitioning the town for a total of $37,000 in funding - and buttressed with donations from the Lunenburg Lion's Club and private citizens

- there is enough to upgrade the playground and purchase equipment.

According to Lions Club member Dave Rogers, his organization originally agreed to donate $5,000, and then raised another $5,000.

A private citizen chipped in $15,000, Rogers said, increasing the funding total to $62,000.

"We've had other significant donations, too," Rogers said, adding that the speed at which Lunenburg residents stepped up to help is further evidence the town has its "priorities straight."

Rogers was not surprised that town residents recognized the value of the project. He said 330 children live within walking distance of the soon-to-be new playground and they deserved a safe place to play with friends.

"It's Lunenburg. And Lunenburg has always been a community that sees the wisdom of projects and comes forth and supports things very very vigorously," Rogers said.

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"It's a great community, and the folks realize that this is something that needed to be done."

Rogers thanked members of the Finance Committee, Board of Selectmen, and Department of Public Works and its director Jack Rodriquenz for their help with the project.

In October, Rodriquenz assisted Letarte and other volunteers to begin clearing trash and overgrown trees and brush from the rear of the town-owned property.

Letarte said he and town officials plan to buy playground equipment suitable for children ages 2 through 12 from Site Specifics, a Rochesterbased company used in three other playgrounds across town.

With the help of volunteers, he expects the Wallis Park playground to be up and running by the end of the school year in June.

"It's not going to be super tall and fantastic, but it's going to be clean, new and it's going to have equipment for every age group," said the father of two children, ages 7 and 10.

Letarte said plans for the park don't end with the new playground equipment. He wants to clear a walking path in the wooded area behind the basketball courts, erect benches, and use the park as a community gathering space for fundraisers and events.

A wood sculptor by trade, Letarte said the time he spent planning and lobbying for Wallis Park was an investment in his neighborhood.

"I just feel like we did the right thing in spending all of the hours doing this, collecting signatures, getting the word out, we did the right thing," he said. "The community has shown they care about our neighborhood."

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